Yes, and haven't you ever played a sport where you are overconfident at some point?

When that happens, it often leads to a lack of focus which stems from boredom. You think you can turn it on at will. Problem is, you often can't do it in that game. The Pistons are going through a stretch of games like that.

None of us are enjoying it. It will not last for long.

They need to get back to what made them awesome earlier in the year. When they do that, they will be extremely difficult to stop.

Washington with 110 points--unreal. Only bright spot was Delk. Just when we had SA on the ropes we give them a game back.

this wasn't that bad- maybe the team actually just needed to be slapped in the face so that they wake up. Washington wanted to beat us and they did. No effort. No hustle. No D! This team won its ring with the going to work attitude and now sometimes they play like bored Divas.
They owe full effort to the fans and this is what you can expect. No one of them could complain about too less money.
The bad:
Sheed taking another 5 3pt attempts. One less than CB, but CB at least made 2. Sheed didn't make one. I hate him taking so many 3's. His the leader in this team in 3 point attempts! What does he want? If he'd have an average above 40%, maybe- but he's shooting good, but not more.

No effort.
No D.
The good
although this was a bad loss, there are several good things
Tay didn't play very much. Flip always said he's on the floor for his stellar D. Stellar D if his opponent scores at will? That's what Butler did!
So he only played 24 minutes- should happen more often. He hasn't been good all season and now it's time to decrease his MPG.
Fino did ok- solid D, solid O, he showed what he can do.
Delk showed he can give a spark from the bench- this is something we need really bad.
Many minutes for the bench- sure, it was because of the loss. But some of them proved that they're doing ok when given minutes. That's important.

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I'm a wannabe- GM, but I stand to it.

Tick..Tock..Tick..Tock...Tick..Tock

The season is winding down.

What have we learned so far?

Well..... what happens when a great offensive coach is paired with one of the smartest,well-tuned starting fives in the past 20 years?

One of the greatest starts in NBA history.

Sounds good.

But.....now what happens when a coach with a history of playoff failures is called to lead a smart, well-tuned starting five that is looking for answers and is facing a league that has studied our team's tendencies for 3/4 of the season.

Losses.

Not so good.

Simply put, I think the league has caught on to our offensive scheme that had suprised our competition to the point where blowout victories were becoming the norm. Now that the opposition has adjusted to our offense and slowed us down, it is time to make adjustments. Bring out the clipboard. Make some decisions with the great personel we have which includes our underrated bench. Coach us to a victory!

It hasn't been happening.

No effective adjustments.

Tick...Tock...Tick..Tock...

We're waiting Flip.

So far, Flip hasn't shown me anything that suggests he has the goods to coach us to a playoff victory. Great pre-game preperation. No in-game ingenuity.

Well, Mr. Davidson and the NBA's best starting five. Looks like you've got what you've been asking for. The team's best chance definitely does not appear to be coming from the coach's chair. It's all about the players. All these years of grooming from some of the NBA's top coaches will finally be put to its test.

So fellas hit the video archives. Resist the urge to transform into Flip's Timberwolves and review what made you one of the best defensive teams in the past 20 years.

Save the season and let's see if you guys can win one for Flip, since his value apparently ended once he finished teaching his offensive playbook.

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Got Jokes?

Just watch this morning. Somewhere there in the third quarter the streams must have crossed or something and then all that inter-dimensionality stuff started up and things got ugly.

Delk was a bright spot. And Tay actually going to the boards early and then pushing the ball up the floor was nice to see. Otherwise, no defensive energy - more zeros in a Ben Wallace line than I can remember seeing for a while, and whatever happened to knocking some guys on their butts sometimes?

This team is notoriously soft. The only players willing to get physical on "D" are Rip and Sheed. Even Ben prefers to play the ball, not the body.

McDyess is starting to bother me, and he is a guy I carry the banner for. At one point in his career will he figure out how to disguise his cheap shots? The guy is not much dirtier than anyone else, but the refs nail him on those obvious calls every single time. He can complain about the quick whistle but being honest with myself, he's forcing them to call obvious hack attempts.

My mission is to pretend this never happened and look forward to the next game. Some of Chauncey's comments about needing focus and what not, man, that's not an MVP talking. These guys gotta learn that they earn respect on the court, and everyone wants to see them taken down. The Ps and Spurs are not "feel good" stories. The world at large wants them to fail. Could there be a bigger target on their back?

I'd be really curious to know what is going on in that locker room. There is no way all 5 guys are telling each other, "yo, we gotta play harder man", or "we'll get them next time". Because if there is 5 guys blowing this off, it could be a very interesting end to the season.

BTW, did anyone see the Stones playing zone against a hot jump shooting team? Washington has a distinct lack of a post up game, it seems insane to me for the Pistons to play zone.

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To all of my friends, comrades and companions at PF.com

Thank you for another great season!

San Antonio was 12-10 last year to finish the season last year. They won the championship. Does anyone know what was our (pistons) record and the Suns record for the last 22 games last year?

GO PISTONS!!!!!!!!!

We went 17-5, the suns went 16-6, Miami 15-7, Mavs 19-3, Nuggets 18-4

Spanking... Spankage... Spankathon... Spankanator

The art of going to the nations capitol and touching your toes to receive a well deserved swat on the buttocks as punishment for your lackadaisical effort.... daddy's Butler & Arenas will be receiving a call from child services.

It might be worth reviewing our preseason expectations... if you expected the team to go 82-0 with no lob sided losses please step forward to receive your extreme optimist award.
Seriously, just curious if the Pistons have not reached anyones goals at this point?
Obviously not much to defend from last nights beatdown...
I'll have to agree with Chauncey in that this is what the team needed as a wake me up.... I don't know of any other teams that has played at a consistently high level all year... would almost prefer a slight lag before the final couple weeks of the regular season... going into the playoff knowing that it's gonna take a high level effort or you'll get bounced early.

Spankalicious... Spanky & the Gang.... Spank happens

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With politicians the future lies ahead

Well said Merc. I couldn't agree more.
You win the Golden Paddle award.